Outside agency to review CPS' decisions about child who died

JoAnne Guerrero had asked law enforcement agencies to look at Child Protective Services' actions relating to the death of daughter Sarah Brasse, with no success.

JoAnne Guerrero had asked law enforcement agencies to look at Child...

SAN ANTONIO — After 8-year-old Sarah Brasse died of untreated appendicitis in 2009 while under the watch of Child Protective Services, only the agency itself reviewed how it handled her case, an internal report that never saw the light of day.

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Now a state watchdog agency that investigates fraud, abuse and policy violations by state employees will conduct an independent review of possible wrongdoing by CPS regarding Sarah's death.

The Office of Inspector General, under the Health and Human Services Commission, said Monday that it will look into, among other things, new allegations by two former caseworkers that the agency changed their records after they submitted them.

The San Antonio Express-News, following up on its investigation into the case in June, reported Sunday that new records show that child-care professionals warned CPS in 2007 that Sarah and her siblings appeared to be neglected, such as reeking of

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urine. But no one at CPS returned their calls, and no documentation of the calls was found in the case file after Sarah died, according to records obtained by the Express-News.

State Sen. Carlos Uresti announced the OIG review from his San Antonio office after meeting with Inspector General Doug Wilson.

“Something about this case has troubled me for so long,” Uresti said. “Given some recent information that was brought to me, things just didn't add up.”

Sarah's mother, JoAnne Guerrero, who had asked various law enforcement agencies to look into CPS' actions, with no success, attended Monday's meeting.

“I'm very hopeful now this is going to go somewhere,” she said. “I have renewed strength.”

Uresti declined to discuss details of the former caseworkers' allegations, but he did say they involve “pretty important information” that may have been left out or removed from the case file.

“(They're saying) what they put in their reports and what's in the file are two different things,” he said. “I'm not going to say CPS is covering up. I'm going to leave that to the inspector general, who I'm confident will do a thorough investigation.”

The Express-News investigation in June found that in the two years before Sarah died, people called CPS a dozen times to report suspicions that her father, David Brasse, and his fiancee, Samantha Britain, were neglecting the children.

Caseworkers compiled files full of troubling details, but the agency never forcefully intervened to protect the girl and her siblings. One investigator found evidence of neglect, but managers later overturned this.

In the 48 hours before Sarah died, three people tried to alert CPS that she was in danger, but the agency didn't open a new investigation or send anyone to check on the ailing girl.

The Express-News also reported in June about former and current employees' criticisms that CPS in San Antonio is beset by favoritism, poorly trained supervisors, unsupportive leadership and an overworked staff with high turnover, among other complaints.

After publication of the stories, Judge John Specia, head of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which oversees CPS, said he wouldn't reopen Sarah's case, stating it was “old.”

When asked for comment about the OIG investigation, Patrick Crimmins, DFPS spokesman, said in an email: “We will cooperate fully.”

The OIG will also examine CPS' actions in the case from a “policy perspective,” Uresti said.

“What could have been done better? What changes do we need to make?” he said. “We have a legal and moral obligation to protect these children, particularly when we've been involved in their lives.”

Internal review

After Sarah died and Uresti asked CPS to review its actions, the agency conducted an in-house investigation, but all that came of it were various policy and procedure recommendations, such as more staff training.

There is nothing in the CPS record to indicate that anyone was disciplined or held accountable, including high-ranking managers responsible for key decisions about Sarah.

The report included some criticisms. It noted that caseworkers didn't act when the family failed to obtain services as required. Police in Schertz told reviewers that caseworkers “backed off” when Brasse became belligerent and threatened legal action. Police also told reviewers that CPS “safety plans,” designed to reduce the risk of abuse or neglect in the home, were worthless in Sarah's case.

But the review didn't acknowledge some crucial missteps, such as the agency's failure to act in the two days before Sarah died even after a school nurse, a school counselor and a Schertz police officer, all worried about her safety, called CPS.

A medical expert would later testify at the manslaughter trial of Brasse and Britain that Sarah would have lived had she received medical attention. The couple were convicted, but an appeals court threw out the verdicts.

The inspector general's office lacks the authority to bring criminal charges against CPS workers, but its findings are used in disciplinary actions and are sometimes given to law enforcement if criminal action is suspected.

In addition to overseeing the OIG, the Health and Human Services Commission is responsible for the Department of Family and Protective Services, CPS' parent.

The OIG began conducting regular reviews of CPS' actions in December 2012 after a number of high-profile child abuse and neglect-related deaths statewide.

One of the first concerned the Aug. 12, 2012, death of a toddler in Abilene whose mother had a history with the agency.

The OIG got involved after police opened an investigation into suspicions that CPS officials withheld case files and photographs from law enforcement.

Former CPS investigator Carrie Wilcoxson, whom Uresti called in as a consultant on Sarah's case, also took part in Monday's meeting with the OIG.

“This is about bringing things to light that can eventually improve the system,” she said, adding that the image of the overworked CPS caseworker — so often targeted whenever children die — isn't the whole picture.

Managers who undercut workers and force them to close cases prematurely, along with related problems, also are to blame, she said, as is that employees have no “safe place” to take their grievances.

In Sarah's case, when an investigator found “reason to believe” that she was being neglected a year before she died — citing a filthy house and the couple admittedly high on marijuana — a manager overturned that finding, saying there wasn't enough evidence.

“We have great policies in place, but it's how (managers) apply these policies that makes a world of difference,” Wilcoxson said. “I can guarantee you, these caseworkers, these front-liners, aren't making these sorts of decisions.”